The triple murder near the "Petrohan" hut in early February 2026 brought public attention to a story that did not begin with a crime, but with a political decision. A story that was first reported by the media "Eco News" in April 2022, but which was neglected by the institutions for years. At that time, it was about a dubious contract signed by the then Minister of Environment and Water and Deputy Prime Minister for Climate Policy Borislav Sandov, with a newly established non-governmental organization called "National Agency for Control of Protected Areas", which undertakes activities resembling security and control over protected areas. The agreement is for the protection of all areas under “Natura 2000“, that is, nearly 35% of the country's territory - over 40,000 square kilometers.
Today, after three of the founders of the same organization were found dead with bullets in the heads, the questions can no longer be ignored, commented “Eco News“.
What's more, to the whole picture is also added the fact that Vasil Terziev, the current mayor of Sofia, was a sponsor of the NGO in question - information that was publicly available on the organization's website until it was taken down and can be traced through internet archives and Google searches.
The agreement that gives the “green light“
It all started in early 2022. On January 13, the non-profit association “National Agency for Control of Protected Areas“ was registered. Among the founders are Ivaylo Ivanov, Ivaylo Kalushev, Nikolay Zlatkov, Decho Vassilev and Plamen Stattev - three of whom would be found dead near the “Petrohan” hut years later. Just 27 days after the organization's registration and just 58 days after the start of the "Petkov" cabinet, on February 8, 2022, Borislav Sandov signed a framework agreement for cooperation between the Ministry of Environment and Water and the newly established NGO.
In the words of Sandov himself, spoken years later after the murder, the document did not create rights or obligations and represented a "sheet of paper" - a symbolic gesture of partnership for nature conservation. In practice, however, it is this agreement that turns out to be the key that legitimizes the activities of a private structure in the heart of protected areas of “Natura 2000“.
Who is behind the “National Agency for Control of Protected Areas“
According to an investigation by 24 hours, for a period of nearly four years, five environment ministers within seven consecutive governments were aware of the activities of the “National Agency for Control of Protected Areas“ and to varying degrees, they attempted to have it limited or terminated. Without any real result. During this time, the organization not only survived institutionally, but also expanded its presence on the ground, building a base near the “Petrohan“ hut, setting up barriers, video surveillance and drones, and exercising de facto control over access to parts of the Balkan Mountains.
Probably to this day, the activities of this NGO would have remained known to a narrow circle of officials, environmentalists and local people, if it were not for the triple murder that shook the country in early February 2026. In the area of the “Petrohan“ hut, which serves as a base for the so-called mountain rangers, the bodies of three of the founders of the association - Ivaylo Ivanov, Decho Vassilev and Plamen Stattev - were found with bullets in their heads.
The murdered are not random figures. They stand at the very core of the organization, created in January 2022 with claims for “national“ control over protected areas. It was these people who were the driving force behind the structure – they participated in management, in contacts with institutions, in logistics and in building the real presence of the NGO in the mountains. After the murder, it became clear that some of them had a serious arsenal of weapons, although formally they had a clean criminal record.
The case of Decho Vassilev is particularly telling. While he is publicly presented as a person dedicated to the cause of nature conservation, he also develops a serious business outside the environmental sphere, including in the field of auditing and accounting. His associates describe him as a person with a cause, but also with contacts, resources and influence, far above the typical profile of an environmental activist.
Another key character in this story is Ivaylo Kalushev - also the founder of the NGO, who was declared wanted after the triple murder. It is he who owns the "Petrohan" hut, purchased shortly before the start of the organization's activities, and it is around this hut that the entire infrastructure of the so-called rangers is concentrated. Kalushev is among the people who actually manage the logistics and presence of the NGO on the ground, including the installation of barriers and control over access to mountain routes.
The same individuals are behind several related non-governmental organizations registered in a short period of time - structures for biodiversity, karst and hydrogeological research, extreme sports, and later the Bulgarian Ranger Association. All of them are connected personally, organizationally and ideologically, and the “National Agency for Control of Protected Areas“ is their most visible and most ambitious form.
It is precisely this combination - private ownership of a key site, a paramilitary vision, serious equipment, international contacts and political legitimization through a signed contract with the state - that turns the NGO into a structure that has existed for years in the gray area between a civil initiative and a private security formation. And when this pattern ends with three corpses in the mountain, the question is no longer just who fired the shots, but who allowed all this to exist for so long.
Hut, land and real power on the ground
Even at the time of signing the agreement, the organization already had a real presence in the Balkan Mountains. According to data revealed back in 2022 by “Eco News“, its members settled in the area of the “Petrohan” hut, where they began to restrict tourists' access to popular routes, including Todorini Kukli peak. These actions have no legal basis – mountain tourism is not prohibited in the “Natura 2000“ areas, and restrictions can only be imposed through approved management plans.
Signals, inspections and institutional powerlessness
As early as 2022, the “Balkanka“ fishing club filed signals to the institutions, warning that the non-governmental organization was exercising control without authority. However, the reaction was late and contradictory. After the fall of the “Petkov“ cabinet, the acting minister Rositsa Karamfilova admitted that such an agreement was a precedent and that elementary administrative requisites were missing when signing it – coordination with directorates, report, document flow, even the name, signature and seal of the ministry in the document itself.
Despite inspections by the Regional Inspectorate for Environmental Protection, referral to the Ministry of Interior and the Prosecutor's Office and attempts to terminate the agreement through notarial invitations, the organization continues to operate. Its representatives remain at the base near Petrohan and develop activities, including training and international contacts. Despite all these inspections, letters and formal attempts to terminate, no government has managed to actually stop the organization's activities.
Private funding and the name of Vasil Terziev
One of the most unclear issues remains funding. The organization publicly claims that it has not received a single lev of state or public funding and that it has “100% private funds“. At the same time, it has weapons, snowmobiles, drones, uniforms and serious logistics – expenses that imply significant financial resources.
It is here that the name of Vasil Terziev appears. On the now-defunct website of the “National Agency for Control of Protected Areas“ there was a separate page with thanks to sponsors, in which Terziev was listed by name and with a photo. This fact, although subsequently deleted from the official online presence of the organization, remains verifiable through Internet archives and search engines. This is how the full picture is formed: a state minister signs an agreement, and a future mayor of Sofia financially supports the same structure.
From “civil cause“ to criminal finale
After the murder of the three founders near the “Petrohan“ hut, the Ministry of Interior stated that they had no signals of illegal activity by the organization. However, the facts show something else - years of institutional weakness, which allowed a private, armed structure to exercise real control over protected areas, under the guise of a “cause“.
What “Eco News“ revealed back in 2022, today seems like an early warning. A warning that was not heard. And the questions that remain are no longer just moral or political, but directly concern the responsibility of the state and specific public figures - who signed, who financed and why no one stopped this in time.